Envoy: Austria trusted partner of Iran

With 700 years of documented contacts and 500 years of partnership and 160 years of full diplomatic relations, Austria is a trusted partner for Iran, Austrian ambassador to Tehran said, AVA Diplomatic reports.

‘Austria as a trusted partner of Iran will further deepen its collaboration with Tehran,’ Stefan Schulz said addressing a ceremony held to mark the Austrian National Day.

‘As a small but strategic contribution we are focusing on building sector partnerships, each with a regional dimension, he said.’

‘Our lighthouse project is the regional center for green energy, next we are strengthening resilience for heavy urban search rescue in order to enable Iran to become a first responder in the region in the event of natural disasters and finally we partner on establishing a national committee for the protection of cultural property in crises,’ Schulz said expounding on the areas for which Austria is building sector partnership.

‘Austria also has the consortium lead in the EU project on fighting human smuggling and we succeeded in having Iran included in a multiannual training program for senior law enforcement officials,’ he noted.

He went on to say that ‘this network of sector partnerships is aimed at building a culture of doing things together and jointly responding to threats emanating in the region.’

‘This evolution was confirmed by the World Court’s order to ensure that sanctions against Iran do not affect humanitarian aid,’ he reiterated.

Austrian envoy referred to the measure taken by Head of Majlis (Parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh to reach out to European Ambassadors for a singular dialogue channel between MPs and foreign envoys, saying ‘these developments are based on the understanding and capability required to deploy Iran’s soft power successfully’.

‘We believe that the important thing at the moment is for Iran to persevere and to continue collaboration and building networks and relationships across the globe,’ Schulz added.